The tomatoes are enjoying the warm temperatures and are
growing by leaps and bounds. I’ve put up
three levels of the Florida Weave trellising technique we discussed in AN EARLIER POST. Every day I make it my
business to walk up and down the rows of the various varieties of indeterminate
heirloom tomatoes we have planted and scout for pests and also to pinch off the suckers that
grow in the “elbows” of the tomato plant.
I saw something on a row of tomatoes that made me stop
right in my tracks and scowl. Would you take a
look at this?:
The scene of the crime |
Some creature absolutely clipped all of the top of the
plant off, snipping the leaves off in a manner that would make a professional
pruner green with envy. It was a
precision job, no doubt, and my task at hand was to locate the perpetrator and
punish him to the fullest extent allowed by law. But locating the perp was going to be
difficult. Oftentimes fugitives from the
law are crafty and use means of evasion such as camouflage to hide in plain
sight while they continue to inflict their destructive vandalism and theft. A criminal's greed is often their downfall.
Evidence off the crime |
I patiently began to search from the uppermost parts of
the damaged tomato plant and inspected every nook and cranny as my eyes shifted
lower in the canopy. Aha! The chase ensued and ended just as quickly as I spotted the perp. There was no need to call for backup as the
criminal was obese and very slow moving.
He was unashamed in his crime and continued eating the tomato plant as I observed him in the act - caught red-handed. I was right when I first saw the damage as to
who the perpetrator was – A Tomato Hornworm!
Mugshot of the Miscreant |
Enough of this foolishness! The long arm of the law reached out and
grabbed him. He was soft and fat and was
easy to subdue, but hard to pull off the plant.
He continued to eat and his sticky legs clung to the tomato. The perp was read his Miranda rights and
brought in for questioning. Forensic
evidence of his crime was seen all over him.
He waived his rights to an attorney.
It is time to get him off the streets and to justice.
Long Arm of the Law |
The tomato hornworm was given a speedy trial and as the verdict was read, the gallery sighed with relief as he was found guilty on all counts by the honorable judge presiding over the case. The sentencing phase of the criminal
proceeding began shortly thereafter and it didn’t take long at all for the
judge to read out the sentence. Due to
the heinous nature of his crime and no doubt a repeat offender, he was deemed a menace to society. Unable to be rehabilitated, the judge was
left with only one means of punishment.
The death penalty! It was to be
administered quickly.
The executioner was called. The tomato hornworm didn’t get a last meal as
he was already full of tomatoes. His
last words were unintelligible. This
executioner was skilled in her job and wasted no time in carrying out the
sentence. Like a sharpened guillotine,
her beak collided with the hornworm’s rotund body and onlookers in the gallery
gasped in horror as gelatinous, dark-green bodily fluids oozed from the entry
point of the executioner’s beak, exacting swift retribution for his criminal acts.
The Executioner |
The criminal was pronounced dead at 5:52 pm and will no
longer carry out his misdeeds on the unsuspecting public. Law enforcement will continue to patrol the
neighborhood as sometimes copycat crimes will occur. Over time, peace and tranquility will again
find its place on the tomato rows in the garden and the death, destruction and dismemberment
will be forgotten. We will, however,
remain vigilant.
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